Skywalker's Balance
by thegreylioness
Summary: Alternative Ending of The Rise of Skywalker. Contains Spoilers of The Rise of Skywalker. Read at your own risk.


As gently as he could, Ben Solo gripped Rey's arms, pulling her lifeless body into his lap as he searched her face. Her face reflected the color of the dead rock lying underneath their entwined bodies. The hole that used to be through his stomach twinged with the memory of Rey's hand covering it willing the Force to piece the cells back together again, the Force flowing from her and into his body, stopping the life that was fleeing him. Memory broke, he cradled her head in his hand, touching her face that he never was able to in life. She saved him by killing Kylo Ren and then his father's forgiveness turned him back to the Light.

He was not afraid to die, and he knew in the depths of him that the Force would bring her back if he would just will it so. He swallowed, moving his hand to her center and settled into the calmness of the power of the Force. He let the power that was in him, the rawness that still pooled in his being and surrounded them both, he let the life force that he found deep within as he took several last breaths, slowly, flow into Rey. His life wrapped up with the Force. He was nearly empty, the life fleeing into Rey when her eyes opened. There were tears still wet on her cheeks, cheeks that weren't so lifeless anymore.

She sat up after a moment while she registered the arms that were steadying her, grasping his shoulder with one hand and touching his cheek with her other. He wouldn't let go of her, not yet. He couldn't. Their eyes met, her mouth curled into a smile, and his emotions flared, a tightness enclosing his chest.

In the moment, it was as long as forever and not nearly long enough, they weren't alone. They had each other, suddenly, and time was short. There were no words but an uttered, "Ben", before she leaned forward and their lips touched together in a gentle, emotion-filled kiss. It was almost chaste but full of meaning, and he wished they had time to talk, to share, to live. Too soon, she pulled away and his face, to her happy tear filled eyes was transformed by a smile, one that was innocent and boyish and fleeting.

They touched each others' faces for mere seconds, before Rey realized she couldn't feel the Force in Ben Solo. No, wait, she couldn't feel Ben. She'd felt life fleeing his body before, back in front of the fallen Death Star, but this was different, it was all but gone.

His face paled, losing what color it had regained after his fall into the mist, it slackened as he slumped back out of her hands, with Rey exclaiming, "Ben, no!"

Her hands, hands that had thrown the same lightning as the evil Emperor, clasped his shoulders as the Force surged within her, her life force was Ben's. He couldn't die, not after she had slew Kylo Ren and his parents had died to save him. To save their Ben. Leia. Han. Grief fueled her, she felt the Force, it was everywhere. She'd never felt more powerful. The Jedi were with her, Luke, Leia, numberless others.

"Be with me." She felt their nearness, they were inside of her, her memories, her feelings, those powerful Jedi that all came before her. They were with her. Why did the Force call to her, awaken those powers inside her? She knew that deep down, the power that called to her was everywhere and in everything. She needed the Force to be within and without and she couldn't live without the one who had been saved, they both had so much to do to regain a peaceful life without the Emperor and the Final Order.

Her hands tightened around Ben's shoulders, her eyes tracing his face, settling on his closed eyes, framed with strong eyebrows and missing the terrible scar that had once crossed his face. "Be with me." The Force flowed and seeped into him, it came from her, it came from the rocks, it came from the stars themselves. Everywhere. The balance shifted. "Ben?" The Force replied and life filled him.

The voice that came from him, was groggy, "I had a dream.." His eyes opened taking her in. "You.. were dead." His dark eyes were full of a starry sky, reflecting the power that filled him from the Force. "I should be dead." He was struggling in her arms, which were keeping him from sitting up but they were weakening against his struggles. "I couldn't survive with you dead."

Her tears fell on his shirt, and she let him sit up, "I couldn't survive with you dead, either."

"Rey.." They fell together and embraced with a strength that belied their reserves. They both grimaced and smiled in a weird mixture of pain and happiness.

"Ben."


End file.
